Ian Poulter

Ian Poulter
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Ian James Poulter
Born (1976-01-10) 10 January 1976
Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 189 lb (86 kg; 13.5 st)
Nationality  England
Residence Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Career
Turned professional 1995
Current tour(s) PGA Tour (joined 2005)
European Tour (joined 2000)
Professional wins 16
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 2
European Tour 12
Japan Golf Tour 1
Asian Tour 2
PGA Tour of Australasia 1
Challenge Tour 1
Other 1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T6: 2015
U.S. Open T12: 2006
The Open Championship 2nd: 2008
PGA Championship T3: 2012
Achievements and awards
Sir Henry Cotton
Rookie of the Year		 2000
Ian Poulter at the 2009 Telus World Skins Game, Lévis, Canada

Ian James Poulter (born 10 January 1976) is an English professional golfer who is a member of the world's top two professional golf tours, the U.S.-based PGA Tour and the European Tour. He has previously been ranked as high as number 5 in the world rankings. The highlights of Poulter's career to date have been his two World Golf Championship wins at the 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the 2012 WGC-HSBC Champions. He is the touring professional for Woburn Golf and Country Club.[1]

Early career

Born in Hitchin, Poulter took up the game at the age of four when his single-handicap father, Terry, gave him a cut-down 3-wood. His older brother Danny is also a professional golfer.[2] Unable to get a place as a pro at a private club, he became the assistant pro and golf shop manager at the Chesfield Downs Golf Club.[3] There he was forced by his boss to pay a full green fee every time he wanted to play in a competition. His handicap hence stayed at four, because he did not play in competitions. Following this period, Poulter joined as Assistant Pro at Leighton Buzzard golf course, giving lessons to youngsters at £1 a time.[4]

Professional career

Poulter turned professional in 1996 gaining his first win at the 1999 Open de Côte d'Ivoire on the European Tour's second tier Challenge Tour. He won promotion to the European Tour itself via the qualifying school later that year.

In his first season, he claimed the Italian Open title and was the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year for 2000. Further wins followed in each of the next four seasons, most prestigiously the season ending "tour championship" the Volvo Masters in 2004. He was in the top ten on the Order of Merit in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2012. In 2013, he finished 2nd on the Order of Merit, his highest placing so far.

After narrowly missing a place in the 2002 European Ryder Cup team, Poulter was a member of the victorious squad in 2004, where he officially scored the winning points for his team.[5] This entitled him to take up membership of the PGA Tour in 2005, and he has divided his time between the two tours since then.

At the 2008 Masters Tournament, Poulter made a hole-in-one at the 16th hole at Augusta National in the first round. At the 2008 Open Championship, Poulter had the clubhouse lead on the last round before being beaten by defending champion Pádraig Harrington. In the 2008 Ryder Cup, Poulter was the highest points scorer on either side as he scored 4 of Europe's 11.5 points. Europe lost the Ryder Cup 16.5–11.5.

In the 2009 Players Championship, he finished in sole possession of second place at eight under-par, four shots behind the winner, Henrik Stenson. In November 2009, Poulter won the Barclays Singapore Open at the Sentosa Club.[6] He moved into the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in January 2010 with a second-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.[7]

In February 2010, he won his first tournament on U.S. soil, beating fellow Englishman Paul Casey 4&2 in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.[8] The win moved him to 5th in the world rankings.[9] His ranking gained Poulter a place in the 2010 Ryder Cup in September at Celtic Manor in Wales He won 3 points in the 4 matches he played in the European team's win by 14.5 points to 13.5. In November 2010, he won his second title of the year with a one-stroke victory in the UBS Hong Kong Open.[10]

On 23 February 2011, in Marana, Arizona, Poulter became the first defending champion in nine years to be eliminated in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. He did however enjoy greater success in the European Tour's own match play event, the Volvo World Match Play Championship where he won the title beating Ryder Cup teammate Luke Donald, 2&1, in the final. He had previously beaten the world number one Lee Westwood, Francesco Molinari and Nicolas Colsaerts to get to the final. This was Poulter's second tournament win in a match play event and eleventh European Tour victory.[11] As a result of his win Poulter moved up from 22nd to 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking. .

Poulter was one of José María Olazábal's two "captains picks" for the European Team at the 2012 Ryder Cup. He won all the 4 matches he played over the three days of the event, and was a key figure in sparking his team's victory by 14.5 points to 13.5.[12]

On 4 November 2012, Poulter won the second World Golf Championship of his career at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shenzhen, China, coming from four strokes back in the final round to win by two from four other players. He shot a final round of 65 which included 8 birdies in his first 15 holes to seize control and despite a late bogey, closed out the victory by two strokes. He became only the second European to have won multiple WGC events after Darren Clarke. The victory took Poulter to 15th in the rankings.[13]

At the 2015 Honda Classic on the PGA Tour, Poulter had a three shot lead going into the final round of the rain delayed event. However he had a disastrous four-over-par final round of 74, where he found the water five times, included twice on the 14th hole which cost him a triple bogey. Poulter would finish in a tie for third, one shot outside of the playoff, which was won by Pádraig Harrington. It was his first 54 hole lead on the PGA Tour and he still to date has never won a non-WGC PGA Tour event. In the same year, Poulter was in a predicament. He fell to 51st in the OWGR and was not exempt for the WGC-HSBC Champions, and had failed to enter the UBS Hong Kong Open. He was also at risk of losing his European Tour card since he had only played in 12 events, one short of membership and Ryder Cup eligibility. He only earned entry to the Hong Kong Open after Rich Beem gave up his sponsor exemption to allow Poulter to compete.[14]

In March 2016, Poulter held the 54-hole lead at the Puerto Rico Open, an alternate event on the PGA Tour. He led by one stroke entering the final round, but shot an even par round which included just the one birdie, to finish in a tie for third, one stroke outside of the playoff. This was only the second time that Poulter had held a 54 hole lead in a stroke play event on the PGA Tour and he is still yet to win one. The result was however his best on tour for over a year.

Clothing

Poulter is well known for his eccentric dress sense, inspired by his mother who managed the Letchworth branch of UK women's fashion chain Dorothy Perkins.[3] His most famous pieces include trousers featuring the famous Claret Jug, worn at both the 2005 and 2006 Open Championships. Commentating for the BBC, Seve Ballesteros jibed that this was "the closest [Poulter] would ever get to it".

He is an avid fan of football club Arsenal.[15][16] He has on several occasions appeared with the team's crest on his shoes, and he even controversially wore the team's shirt during an event, gaining widespread ire for flying in the face of golfing tradition (immediately after the event the rule was changed to stop future players wearing football jerseys). In addition to his golfing career, Poulter launched Ian Poulter Design (IJP Design) in 2007.[17]

Controversy

In the March issue of Golf World (UK) in 2008, Poulter was quoted saying "Don't get me wrong, I really respect every professional golfer, but I know I haven't played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger."[18]

Following the European Team's loss in the 2008 Ryder Cup, Poulter accused Anthony Kim, who was on the American team, of body checking him in the middle of a match, which Kim denied and said it was an accident.[19]

In April 2010, Poulter was strongly rebuked for using an anti-Semitic nickname for Tottenham Hotspur fans in one of his Twitter posts. He has since apologised.[20]

In October 2010, Poulter tweeted videos of him with the Ryder Cup trophy at his Florida home, including a video of him and his children eating cereal out of the trophy sparking controversy.[21]

In March 2014, Poulter called Japanese first-year pro Hideki Matsuyama an "idiot" on Twitter during the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Matsuyama had accidentally damaged the 13th green while putting during treacherous conditions. Poulter claimed that Matsuyama failed to repair it himself. Matsuyama later apologized directly to Poulter.[22]

In October 2014, PGA of America president Ted Bishop responded to Poulter's criticism of the Ryder Cup captaincy of Nick Faldo and Tom Watson by calling Poulter a "lil girl", which led to Bishop's firing. The PGA called Bishop's statements "unacceptable" and "insensitive gender-based".[23][24]

Personal life

Poulter is married to Katie; the couple have four children, and live in Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida.[25] The couple also have a home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.[26]

Poulter is an avid car collector, and along with his 2008 purchase of a Ford GT,[27] he has a Bentley Continental GT, a Ferrari California, and has owned a Ferrari, Nissan Skyline and an Aston Martin DB9. As of August 2015, Poulter has 2 million followers on Twitter, which is the second most on the PGA Tour to Tiger Woods with 4.7 million followers.

Sponsorships

Poulter currently has an endorsement with the following companies: IJP Design, Mutual of Omaha, Titleist, Nikon, EA Sports, MasterCard, Oakley, Fathead, Audemars Piguet, Marquis Jet.[28]

Professional wins (16)

PGA Tour wins (2)

Legend
World Golf Championships (2)
Other PGA Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 21 Feb 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship 4 and 2 England Paul Casey
2 4 Nov 2012 WGC-HSBC Champions 69-68-65-65=267 –21 2 strokes United States Jason Dufner, South Africa Ernie Els,
United States Phil Mickelson, United States Scott Piercy

European Tour wins (12)

Legend
World Golf Championships (2)
Other European Tour (10)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 29 Oct 2000 Italian Open 66-67-65-69=267 −21 1 stroke Scotland Gordon Brand, Jnr
2 15 Apr 2001 Moroccan Open 71-67-69-70=277 −15 2 strokes England David Lynn
3 3 Nov 2002 Italian Open (2) 61-67-69=197 −19 2 strokes Scotland Paul Lawrie
4 1 Jun 2003 Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open 65-67-68-70=270 −18 3 strokes South Africa Darren Fichardt, England Jonathan Lomas,
Australia Jarrod Moseley
5 10 Aug 2003 Nordic Open 68-67-65-66=266 −22 1 stroke Scotland Colin Montgomerie
6 31 Oct 2004 Volvo Masters Andalucia 71-67-69-70=277 −7 Playoff Spain Sergio García
7 17 Sep 2006 XXXII Banco Madrid Valle Romano
Open de Madrid Golf Masters		 67-66-64-69=266 −22 5 strokes Spain Ignacio Garrido
8 1 Nov 2009 Barclays Singapore Open1 66-64-72-72=274 −10 1 stroke China Liang Wen-chong
9 21 Feb 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship 4 and 2 England Paul Casey
10 21 Nov 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open1 67-60-64-67=258 −22 1 stroke England Simon Dyson, Italy Matteo Manassero
11 22 May 2011 Volvo World Match Play Championship 2 and 1 England Luke Donald
12 4 Nov 2012 WGC-HSBC Champions 69-68-65-65=267 −21 2 strokes United States Jason Dufner, South Africa Ernie Els,
United States Phil Mickelson, United States Scott Piercy

1 Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 18 Nov 2007 Dunlop Phoenix −11 (65-68-67-69=269) 3 strokes Spain Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño

Asian Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 1 Nov 2009 Barclays Singapore Open1 66-64-72-72=274 −10 1 stroke China Liang Wen-chong
2 21 Nov 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open1 67-60-64-67=258 −22 1 stroke England Simon Dyson, Italy Matteo Manassero

1 Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 18 Dec 2011 JBWere Masters 65-68-69-67=269 −15 3 strokes Australia Marcus Fraser

Challenge Tour wins (1)

Other wins (1)

Results in major championships

Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP T31 T33 DNP T13 T25 T20
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT T57 T12 T36 WD T18
The Open Championship T64 DNP T50 T46 T25 T11 CUT T27 2 CUT
PGA Championship DNP CUT DNP T61 T37 T47 T9 T23 T31 T19
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Masters Tournament T10 T27 7 CUT T20 T6 T49
U.S. Open T47 CUT T41 T21 T17 T54
The Open Championship T60 CUT T9 T3 CUT CUT
PGA Championship WD T39 T3 T61 T58 CUT

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 3 7 12 11
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 4 12 9
The Open Championship 0 1 1 2 3 5 15 10
PGA Championship 0 0 1 1 2 4 14 11
Totals 0 1 2 3 8 20 53 41

World Golf Championships

Wins (2)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship n/a 4 & 2 England Paul Casey
2012 WGC-HSBC Champions 4 shot deficit −21 (69-68-65-65=267) 2 strokes United States Jason Dufner, South Africa Ernie Els,
United States Phil Mickelson, United States Scott Piercy

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament20012002200320042005200620072008
Cadillac Match Play Championship DNP DNP DNP QF 4 R64 R16 R32
Cadillac Championship NT1 DNP T44 DNP T18 T2 T16 T57
Bridgestone Invitational T13 DNP T33 DNP T33 T13 T30 T16
Tournament 2009 201020112012201320142015
Cadillac Championship T13 T37 T45 T60 T28 T52 T49
Cadillac Match Play Championship R16 1 R64 R64 4 R64 T34
Bridgestone Invitational T15 T65 T68 T29 T19 T52 T17
HSBC Champions T45 T13 T13 1 2 T6 T30

1Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Ryder Cup points record
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 Total
1-4341 13

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Woburn Golf Club – Ian Poulter". Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  2. ↑ "PGA Tour profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Ian Poulter: Dandy of the fairways aims to end British fashion for failure". The Independent (London). 13 July 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  4. ↑ "Poulter is a Leighton lad for life". Leighton Buzzard Observer. 22 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Colin Montgomerie is widely credited as having holed the winning putt, although Ian Poulter birdied on the 15th hole of his match to guarantee a half-point and so mathematically win the Ryder Cup seconds before Montgomerie. This was commentated on by course commentators and BBC Radio 5 Live, whose Golf correspondent Ian Coulter recalled in the News of the World: "My editor said Poulter was three up seconds before Monty hit his putt. Then Colin's putt went in – you can imagine the situation. To have over-ruled his achievement would have been like trying to deny Alan Shearer a goal that went in off a defender." "This man won us Ryder Cup – not Monty" News of the World (London); 26 September 2004; Geoff Sweet; p. 75. Frank Keating of The Guardian also noted this chain of events, writing "radio logged the fact that it was not Montgomerie's putt which actually clinched the cup but Poulter's, a matter of seconds before and a few holes behind." "Golf, Cricket: Notes from the touchline" The Guardian (Manchester); 24 Sep 2004; Frank Keating; p. 34. Notwithstanding, Poulter was still in a Dormie position at this time (3 holes up with 3 to play) and players in this position can still be disqualified and thus lose their match. A similar situation took place 2 years later.
  6. ↑ "Poulter secures Singapore title". BBC Sport. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
  7. ↑ Martin Kaymer Climbs To World Number 6 With Win In Abu Dhabi And Bill Haas Wins The Bob Hope Classic – Official World Golf Ranking, Week 4, 2010
  8. ↑ "Poulter defeats Casey to win World Match Play title". BBC Sport. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  9. ↑ Ian Poulter Wins The WGC-Accenture Match Play And Jumps To A Career High World Number Five – Official World Golf Ranking, 2010, Week 8
  10. ↑ "Ian Poulter wins Hong Kong open by one stroke". BBC Sport. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  11. ↑ "Ian Poulter defeats Luke Donald for Volvo World Match Play win". PGA European Tour. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  12. ↑ "Ryder Cup 2012: Europe beat USA after record comeback". BBC Sport. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  13. ↑ "Poulter claims 2nd WGC win in China". BBC Sport. 4 November 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  14. ↑ Ferguson, Doug (20 October 2015). "Rich Beem explains decision to step aside for Ian Poulter in Hong Kong". PGA of America. Associated Press.
  15. ↑ "My Arsenal – Ian Talk about His Passion for the Game". 1 August 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  16. ↑ "Angel Cabreras Argentinian Steakout Means Nothing To Arsenal Fan Ian Poulter". Daily Mail (London). 6 April 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  17. ↑ "Ian Poulter drives a profit with clothing firm IJP Design". The Telegraph. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  18. ↑ "Poulter wants to close book on controversy". Daily Mail. 29 February 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  19. ↑ Wilson, Ryan (27 September 2008). "Anthony Kim Explains Why He 'Body-Checked' Ian Poulter During Ryder Cup". AOL News. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "Anger at Ian Poulters Yid Web Slur". The Sun (London). 16 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  21. ↑ "Ian Poulter eats cereal from Ryder Cup". The Telegraph. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  22. ↑ Harig, Bob (8 March 2014). "Ian Poulter rips Hideki Matsuyama". ESPN. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  23. ↑ "Ian Poulter tweet leads to exit of American PGA president". BBC Sport. October 24, 2014.
  24. ↑ "PGA impeaches Ted Bishop". ESPN. Associated Press. October 27, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Jeff Rude to check out his Orlando Florida home". Golf Week TV. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  26. ↑ "Ian Poulter – Bio". PGA European Tour.
  27. ↑ "Fifth Gear – Ford GT Ian Poulter". Fifth Gear. September 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  28. ↑ "Icon Sports Management profile". Iconsportsinc.com. Retrieved 2 January 2013.

External links

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